4 - Evolution of the brain Flashcards
3 important factors of the evolution theory by Darwin
- Variation
- Heritability
- Natural selection (environmental adaptation)
mutation create
variation
common descent
2 different species have close common ancestor (apes and humans)
convergence
seperation, 2 species evolved independetly (humans and birds)
homology is a trait of
common descent (same ancestors)(e.g. forelimbs)
analogy is a trait of
seperation, same functionally but not derived from same ancestors (e.g. bird wings with bones, insect wings)
patrick batesons says about innate
that there are so many different meanings, so innate is meaningless
what does konrad lorenz say about innate behaviour
animals (or humans, kasper hauser case) who live in isolation will show innate behaviour
daniel lehrman says that behaviour results from …
a complex interaction between individual and external/internal environment
Ecological / foreagaing hypothesis (of brain size / intelligence explanation)
If you make more effort for e.g. getting food, your brain is larger, bc it take more cognitive brian function
(meat eating is more difficult than leafd eating)
Social / Machiavellian intelligence hypothesis (of brain size explanation)
More complexer and larger social interactions/group, bigger brain, because it takes more social behaviour/cognitive skills.
General intelligence hypothesis (of brain size explanation)
More innovative behaviour, bigger brain
antromorphism
attributing human characteristics to animals
Ethology
Objective study of animal behaviour
frans van der waal observed ..
aggresive behaviour between animals (apes console “troost’ each other, which is human behaviour (= antromorphism))
species with common ancestor have kept these brain functions the same, 3 cortexes:
1) visual cortex
2) auditory cortex
3) somatosensory cortex
tinbergen 4 questions regarding behaviour
1) evolution of it
2) function of it
3) development of it
4) causation of it
evolutionary psychology says
evolution of history has to be considered to explain human cognition, so go back to stone age|
(say women are more choosy than men, but it is equal, explained by cultural)
3 reasons why evolutionary psychology does not work
1) we have no cognitive fossiels (so fossiel of memory)
2) besides a biological evolution, there is also a cultural one
3) evolution is not about mechanisms
homologus
when a trait is of common descent
difference in wings in birds and bats is an example of
analogous
fruit eating bats have larger brain than insect eating bats supports … hypothesis
ecological
allometry
plotting brain mass vs body mass
cognitive adaptive specialisatio in food storing bids is thought to be because of a improved
spatial memory
neural adaptive specialization in food storing birds is thought to be because of a improved
hippocampus
the mind has evelved as a result of selection pressures in the stone age is an example of
evolution psychology
is it true that neaderthalers have bigger brains than humans?
YES, TRUE